Digital Photo Tips - General Rules For Aperture Settings

One of the most confusing settings for beginner photographers to get a grasp on is proper use of the aperture or f-stop settings. The biggest misconception is that aperture controls shutter speed or vice versa. If fact, the two work in concert to achieve the optimum exposure for your image. That should be the main goal of all your photos. How you choose to emphasize the your subject is a topic for other articles.

Essentially, the aperture and shutter speed work to provide the proper ratio of light. If you select a larger aperture, smaller f-stop like 2.8, you are allowing more light through the lens. This in turn allows you to use higher shutter speeds to capture motion without blurring. Keep in mind that that the smaller the f-stop, the shallower your depth of field will be. An object in the background may appear blurry with a large or open f-stop but appear in clear focus with a small or closed stop. So in general, here's where you want to be with your aperture setting for various types of photos.

For portraits, you will probably tend to start more to the open end of the setting, meaning a small f-number. This is useful if you are trying to eliminate background distractions because of the shallow depth of field.

On the other end of the spectrum would landscape and architectural images. Here you will probably start with your aperture closed down as small as possible to get the greatest depth of field. With this genre of photography, smaller apertures are necessary due to the size of the subject and the proximity of the camera. But you will need to use much slower shutter speeds so a tripod and shutter release cable are useful to have for these shots.

Photography 101 - How to Understand and Change Contrast

There are many individual elements of what makes an image appear a certain way. Exposure, film speed, camera quality, framing and printing method all have an impact on the quality of your final print. Contrast is one of the most important and easily manipulated elements of a photograph and, when used properly, can take your images to a whole new level.

Contrast is simply the difference between the darks and light in your photographs. In terms of black and white photography, high contrast images have very bright whites and incredibly dark blacks with little room in between, while low contrast images will have more grey and appear less distinct. In color photos, contrast is used to describe the color intensity and how the colors stand out in relation to each other. While there's no "perfect" level of contrast, a good rule of thumb is to try and create images that have pure black, pure white, and every shade in between. This is not as easy as it sounds!

Different Degrees of Contrast

As a photographer, you'll have a preference on the amount of contrast that you like in your prints. Some photographers like high contrast while others like low, so it really depends upon what works for you. As long as your images convey the message you want to pass on, no one is going to call you on the phone and tell you to change your photographs around.

If you want to see some examples of excellent normal contrast just look at the work by Ansel Adams. His landscape photographs in black and white cover every base possible in terms of greys, blacks, and whites, and are quite powerful because of it. For an example of high-contrast, recent films such as Sin City and The Spirit used high-contrast imagery to augment their story.

Manipulating Contrast

There are several ways you can adjust the contrast of your photograph. Different types of film or digital camera settings will give your pictures different amounts of contrast. For example, slide film has a high contrast ratio compared to regular film. You can also increase the time your film develops or "push" your film so that your images will have more contrast. Be careful that you don't over-develop your film because, unlike prints, it can't be redone once you develop it.

In the darkroom, you can apply a filter to your enlarger to change the contrast of your images. A #1 filter wil be a slight contrast increase, whereas a #4 filter will significantly increase the contrast level in your print. If you're using a digital camera, most photo editing software has a built in contrast option that will let you mimic the changes you could make in the darkroom. Contrast is unlimited in what you can do with it so play around and take it to the limit and see what happens.

Contrast can control the focal point of an image, as in where your viewers look. It can help better define important parts of a picture and creates a better final product when it is present in the right levels. Use the "pure black, pure white" rule in every photograph and you'll see a huge improvement in the images you produce. Once you understand what degree of contrast works in your photos, you'll start to see how you can use contrast in the real world to shoot even better pictures. As always, the best way to get better is to keep practicing!

The Famous Black and White Photography You Can Afford Now

Famous black and white photography prints go for a lot of money in the art market. Have you ever wished you knew about an artist's work when it was cheap enough for you to invest in before it started going up and up like a red hot stock tip? Well you can. The black and white photographs of Alfred Cheney Johnston, a contemporary of Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz are gaining steam.

Alfred Cheney Johnston was the famed photographer of the Ziegfeld Follies. During his reign with the Follies, Cheney shot some of the most famous and beautiful people in the world - Lillian Gish, the Barrymores, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the Madonna of the Jazz Age - Louise Brooks known by her fans back then and today as just "Lulu".

Cheney shot thousands of stunning black and white photographs. They're stunning because of his fine art training. ACJ started out as an art student in New York City and was a protege of artist Charles Dana Gibson, who created the "Gibson Girl" modeled after his wife. While Cheney was still in art school the medium of photography was gaining ground as an acceptable art medium. It was Gibson who brought Cheney's attention to photography in the first place and encouraged him to explore it as a new way to express his artistry. Thankfully Cheney listened.

During the Jazz Age, before the big stock market crash which triggered the Great Depression of the 1930's, Alfred Cheney Johnston was in great demand. Not only was he photographing all the stars and many of the chorus girls of the Ziegfeld Follies, he was photographing the denizens of Fifth Avenue in the New York City. It wasn't long before Hollywood came calling wanting to hire Cheney to shoot stills of the stars. At one time Johnston was as famous as many of the people he photographed.

The Great Depression brought ruin all across the United States. With money tight, especially for such luxuries as going to Broadway musicals, Flo Ziegfeld was forced to close the Follies. Alfred Cheney Johnston and his wife retreated to an old Connecticut farm where he lived out his life in total obscurity.

Upon Cheney's death thousands of his photographs were discovered in his studio. An old turkey coop was filled with all his glass negatives. The negatives were carted off to the local dump. The black and white photographs were inherited by a close friend. Eventually the entire collection was sold to a photo dealer.

Thanks to the Internet, especially eBay, those stunning black and white prints started being offered for sale on the auction site. As a result Alfred Cheney Johnston's work is slowly regaining its notoriety from the days of the Roaring 20's.

Guideline About Digital Photography

Digital Photography Training

Some companies offer courses designed to train a team of staff members to become better Photographers. Only practice will help you get better at getting digital photographs. Keep in mind to put focus on one technique at a time and master it prior to moving on to one more technique. For the reason that the older adage states, before you may perhaps run, you must first notice how to
walk. By following some easy digital photography guidelines, you may possibly ensure that the pictures taken with that expensive digital camera are great ones.

There is no shame in needing basic or advanced instruction. There are innumerable benefits to visit an online digital photography classes. You can expect to pay a few hundred dollars to attend a digital photography classes, but an online digital photography course is usually very flexible and in depth.

Professional Digital Photography

These days cameras in the $500 range are close to-professional quality, and all but the cheapest digital cameras can also create decent looking images. Photographers must keep in mind that professional digital photography software is just a computer program. There are some topics in life that we may perhaps do on our own and there are other things that it is probably best that we hire professional assistance to take care of.

The first item of professional digital photography equipment that should be upgraded is the digital camera. The elemental attribute of a digital camera that determines photo quality is its megapixel rating. The ISO 1600 and High ISO Auto settings reduce blur when the lights are down low. Lots of cameras let you to pre-focus a shot by half-pressing the shutter button, and after that once the exact time is there, fully press the shutter.

The best way to determine which camera is most excellent for you is to look into any of the various digital photography magazines and Web sites that offer comparisons and user evaluations of hundreds of various cameras. Newer and more expensive cameras tend to have the least shutter lag, and digital single-lens reflex, or S.

Cash From Your Camera - Tips to Make Money From Food Photography

This is quite a difficult field to get into and possibly one of the most challenging and demanding areas of commercial photography. It is quite similar to fashion photography where you have a team of people involved in the shoot, from the chef to a food stylist and an art director. So the pressure is on to deliver. Here's how to start.

You need to be able to get along with people and take direction. The client is the one who will give you the brief and expect you to create an image that is only in their mind. The ability to keep cool is essential and the ability to bite your tongue a great asset. Here's how to shoot great food images.

1. Know the trends and styles

This is where you need to do your research and keep up to date using the latest books and magazines. Many mags have a food section and this will give you a good idea of what the trends are. Get to know the lighting set ups so that you can duplicate this.

2. Detail is king

When photographing food you are trying to get a good representation of how the food looks and in the case of restaurants, what will be delivered to the person's table. Because you are shooting so close to the subject and often using close-up lenses you will see all the imperfections such as dust, hairs and fingerprints. So you need to make sure that everything is clean and free of any imperfections. With digital it is essential to review your images in high resolution while on set to check all the details.

3. Create a portfolio

Every food photographer has a portfolio of their work but what do you do if you don't? Create one. It's as simple as that. By studying magazines and books you will know the trends so setup dishes in you own kitchen of if you have a friend crazy about cooking do it in theirs. Copying the lighting, back grounds and techniques of top food photographers will give you practise and help create a portfolio of what you can deliver.

4. Do a workshop

We have a local photography school that offers a weekend workshop in food photography. This is the perfect way to hone your skills and refine your techniques. Most times they are offered by experienced food photographers from the industry and you will learn helpful tips and ways to get a foothold in the industry.

5. Market yourself

It's very difficult to market yourself if you don't have a track record so start small and approach local restaurants and non-chain fast food outlets and offer your services. Often they don't have big budgets and are looking for people to photograph their products. Offer your services to local cookery or chef schools where students are looking to create their own portfolios.

As I said, this is a demanding industry and you need to stay focused and work hard while looking for opportunities. Perseverance is key and the ability to endure rejection is essential. If you can stick it out and overcome the pitfalls you'll find your niche and achieve great success. Happy shooting!

5 Career Options for Fashion Design Degree Holders

Society and parents in general tend to be wary towards encouraging people to work in Fashion for good reason. Firstly, they are right about the industry's highly selective employment. They're also right when they say that Fashion is "not what it seems" even though they probably have no idea what they really talking about. But before you decide to throw in the towel and take up accounting courses, or look for a no-brainer 9-5 job, here are a few fashion design careers to consider!

The Popular Path

A fashion designer's job seems to be surrounded by the glitz and glamour of having your works appearing on glossy magazines and the season's hottest celebrities. It's a no-brainer that people want to be fashion designers just like how some covet to be millionaires. To take this career path, you need a strong design portfolio. Prior work experience in fashion will be an advantage. So this is where being an intern during your holidays pay off.

There are two kinds of Fashion Designers:

The In-house Designer:

You will work with a fashion company and design clothes according to their guidelines. The company will own the rights to your designs while you draw a monthly salary from them. Depending on the scale of the company, you may work alone or with a team. Be an in-house designer if you have plans to join the big wigs like Fendi, Gucci, Prada or Louis Vuitton.

The Freelancer:

Freelancers work for themselves and sell their designs to fashion houses, directly to shops or to manufacturers. After building a good name, you'll probably start getting people commissioning you for design work. Freelance Designers have the flexibility of work hours and tend to command higher wages, but keep in mind that financial stability is at high risk. If you're just starting out, it's best to work as an in-house designer for some experience first before attempting a freelance career.

Other Possible Paths

Most people don't study fashion design specifically to join these ranks, but if you found that designing isn't your cup of tea somewhere through your course; these are jobs in the industry that you can consider:

Fashion Buyer:

You will be responsible for travelling around and buying suitable fashions for shops or departmental stores. Your knowledge in Fashion Design will help you to predict trends or identify quality, giving you an edge for this job.

Fashion Journalist:

You will write articles about fashion and source for newsworthy stories in your field. With in-depth fashion know-how and garment composition, you'll make a perfect critic and can dish out fantastic fashion advice.

Wedding photography:

You will plan locations and carry out photoshoots with newly weds or bridal studios. By knowing the ins and outs of a fashion shoot, you can make a couple look awesome in their matrimony garb.

Verdict

If you find yourself jobless long after you've graduated with your fashion design degree, all is not lost. It just means that your portfolio needs a revamp. Read up fashion magazines for inspiration and start sketching for a variety of genres. Employers judge designers by their portfolio because it's the most accurate representation of the owner that no r矇sum矇, job experience or testimonial can replace. It portrays your education, experience and personal style. With the right attitude, the possibilities are endless! If the world is not providing you with any shortcuts, the best solution is to make one yourself.

The Art of Successful Furniture Photography

Firstly, the furniture photographer needs to get to grips with the distance and position of the equipment in hand. Finding a big enough area to set up a realistic and comfortable shoot gives the best results. However despite a bigger photography area helping to initially shoot the furniture, the bigger the space the harder it is to control the lighting.

It is important to decide a theme for your photos; whether the furniture alone will be the only element to the picture or whether it will be part of a set. This can often be decided by what purpose the pictures are being used for. Another element to consider is the use of models in the photographs; depending on the theme off the shoot, models can help bring an element of life to the picture and really have an real effect on the viewer.

With furniture photography, it is important to note the variation on controlling light depending on the texture of the equipment in hand. High reflective furniture such as varnished cabinets, need bigger and diffused sources of light, with larger, paler backgrounds. Softer furniture such as material sofas and cushions need much harder lighting to help bring to life the varying textures and mirror the effect of natural sunlight. Painted and upholstered furniture are the easiest to shoot as the matte surfaces bring reflection to a minimal.

Keeping the background simple is essential for the furniture photographer; a boldly patterned or cluttered background could divert the viewers' attention away from the subject.

With furniture photography, it is often considered best to use a wide angle lens as to minimize distortion and position the camera both horizontally and vertically in the centre of the furniture to capture more detail.

It is important to note that when it comes to furniture photography, preparation is key. Preparation will generally take longer than the shoot itself, lighting and staging of props should be carefully prepared before the first picture is even taken. The ending of the shoot can also have an effect on the overall outcome, if elements of the process such as the lighting or reflection of the final photographs were not as you had hoped it is possible to edit the work to extent. It is always best to have an idea of what the final product will look like and work towards that image.

Don't forget! It is essential that the furniture is clean and well-polished!